[3.5]Necropolitan Warmage HP

[Thurbane]

Hi all...looking for ways to boost HP for a Necropolitan Warmage. Aside from Toughness and Improved Toughness, what are the options? Race and class are non-negotiable.

All WotC 3.X books allowed. No Dragon Mag or homebrew. (No Faerie Mysteries Initiate! )

Cheers - T

[PId6]

Eh, is it too late to become a Dry Lich?

The best way I know of to increase Necropolitan HP involves heavy backstory abuse. Say that the one that turned you into a Necropolitan was an 8th level Dread Necromancer with the Corpsecrafter feat, who created you on Desecrated ground. This grants you +4 enhancement to Str and Dex as well as 5 additional hit points per HD. For extra abuse, add in all of the other Corpsecrafter feats onto the hypothetical Dread Necromancer, netting you +2 Natural Armor, +4 Initiative, +10 ft speed, +4 Turn Resistance, +1d6 cold damage on each attack, and the ability to explode in negative energy when you die ().

For even more abuse, add in Spellstitched, but that gets into territory so questionable even I'm hesitant to use it.

[faceroll]

Being created on desecrated ground isn't too cheesy or implausible. You can also take the slow trait form Unearthed Arcana for +1 HP/level at the cost of halving your move speed.

[Tytalus]

If all that isn't an option, temporary HP might help quite a bit. False Life lasts for hours, and can be put into an Eternal Wand, if you don't have a buddy to cast it on you.

[Runestar]

I agree that temp hp may be your best bet. MIC has quite a few items which grant temp hp for cheap.

[Morph Bark]

Agreed with PId6's post. Backstory abuse is the way to go!

Also, if I were you I'd pick a base race with as massive a penalty to Con you can get and of course start with the lowest score possible so you can pump your casting stat and other important stuff. But since you said "race is non-negotiable" I assume you already did that.

[Thurbane]

Sweet, good advice all.

Also, Fast Healing would be good, which I think the Evolved Undead template can grant?

...basically, it's to use the Reserves of Strength feat from the DCS, so that he can boost spell output at the cost of HP of damage.

[Escheton]

Consider the shadow creature template from Lords of Madness. Fast healing 2 is just one of the massively nifty things you get. And no 1% per 100 years of unlife to reasonably get it.

[PId6]

Also, Fast Healing would be good, which I think the Evolved Undead template can grant?

Evolved grants Fast Healing 3, Natural Armor +1, and Cha +2, so it's decent with buyoff. Still, you're better off just having a cleric cast Lesser Vigor on you (or UMD a wand yourself), or better yet Persist Mass Lesser Vigor on the entire party.

[Gnaeus]

, you're better off just having a cleric cast Lesser Vigor on you (or UMD a wand yourself), or better yet Persist Mass Lesser Vigor on the entire party.

Illegal by RAW. the vigor line can only be targeted on Living creatures (as opposed to just creatures).

[PId6]

Illegal by RAW. the vigor line can only be targeted on Living creatures (as opposed to just creatures).

Huh, never noticed that. Still works on Tomb Tainted Souls, but not actual undead I guess.

In place of the LA+1, may I suggest Dread Necromancer 1? You get infinite healing from it, and the benefits of having actual HD may outweigh the other benefits of the template (though with buyoff the template's probably better).

[Gnaeus]

You might be able to make an argument that mass lesser vigor works on undead. Its language on targeting is less clear. But it also works like vigor, so DM call.

[ZeroNumerous]

If you were somehow able to count as a Fey-type being when it concerns feats: Beauty's Bounty replaces CON with Charisma concerning HP.

I have no idea how this would be accomplished while still maintaining use of the feat.

[IdleMuse]

If you were somehow able to count as a Fey-type being when it concerns feats: Beauty's Bounty replaces CON with Charisma concerning HP.

I have no idea how this would be accomplished while still maintaining use of the feat.

The Half-Fey template is in Fiend Folio I believe; for LA+2, you get to be Fey (qualifying you for Beauty's Bounty), and +4 CHA (which obviousy now gives you more hit points), on top of a bunch of spell-like abilities, immunities, no penalties except CON, damage reduction 5, and even Butterfly Wings!

Unfortunately this also comes under the heading backstory abuse, since it's an inherited template that can't be applied directly to undead.

TBH your best bet (especially if LA buyoff is allowed) is to go Evolved Undead.

Also, just an interesting appendix, if you're playing in Eberron/have a lenient DM, take a look at the Bloodtouched Rite in Player's Guide to Eberron: A one-off loss of 2 constitution for a bunch of necromantic benefits, including CHA to HP.

[Morph Bark]

If your DM starts nagging about the 1% chance every 100 years to gain the Evolved Undead template, tell him that your character is really from some ancient civilization from 10,000 years ago. If the DM loves to interweave ancient stuff or PCs' backstories into your campaigns, this should win him over easily.

Also, just an interesting appendix, if you're playing in Eberron/have a lenient DM, take a look at the Bloodtouched Rite in Player's Guide to Eberron: A one-off loss of 2 constitution for a bunch of necromantic benefits, including CHA to HP.

Oohh, I am definitely going to look into that now!

[Fax Celestis]

Ask your DM if they'll let you be a Pathfinder undead: d8 HD, no Con score, but bonus HP based on your Cha.